How to Flirt
by paparazzo
Summary: It was the year of 67’. In the wizarding world, everything was chaos. The Dark Lord was getting stronger by the day. But the students of Hogwarts only worried about their hair, and their love life. Told through the eyes of a pretty girl. Sirius/OC


It was the year of 67'. In the wizarding world, everything was chaos. The Dark Lord was getting stronger by the day. There wasn't a soul who hadn't been affected. But the students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry didn't worry about the outside world. They were safe under the watch of Dumbledore, hidden inside the school where the only thing that mattered was their hair, their love life, and the occasional class.

Among the top of their priorities was popularity. At Hogwarts, popularity was a big deal. Those who were blessed with both the looks and the personality were treated as gods. And no one knew popularity better than a certain group of sixth year Gryffindors.

But behind every pretty face is a demon. Everyone had their own sets of problems, the trick was not to show it.

---

Michelle Parker was pretty. That, she knew for sure. All her life she had been told she was pretty, pretty, pretty. For some people, that would be fine. Michelle couldn't stand it. No one ever noticed her smarts, or her personality. It was all about how she could fill out a dress. But with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes, she knew that it would always be that way. She would always just be _pretty_.

Her best friend, Lily Evans, was luckier. She was gorgeous, of course, but people were interested in her for more than that. Lily was smart, smarter than anyone else in their year, and was very vocal. She was known for her short temper, but Michelle knew that Lily could be sweet as day. Lily had the most luscious red hair Michelle had ever seen, and sparkling green eyes everyone gushed over.

Michelle wished she could be more like Lily. Or even like her other roommate, Katie Smith. Katie was less attractive, but that was nothing makeup couldn't fix. Katie was wild. She was tiny, but boyish, and energetic in all the right ways. If anyone knew how to party, it was Katie. Michelle wasn't like that at all, as much as she tried.

Katie and Lily did what they wanted, and didn't care what everyone else thought. Michelle tried to pass off as being that confidant, but she could never truly be like them. She cared too much. She wanted everyone to love her, and adore her. For the most part, it worked. But that was why she was pretty. Nothing more, nothing less.

She pondered this at the breakfast table an early morning in November. It was the night after Halloween, and both of her roommates nursed hangovers up in the dormitory. Michelle's head ached, but she didn't drink nearly as much as them. She was up early, strangely enough, sitting with a boy from Hufflepuff. His name was Roy.. or was it Ron? He was kind of plain, with dull brown hair and matching eyes, rambling on about Quidditch or something. But he was popular, which meant Michelle had to stomach him. That was how it worked at this school.

"And then O'Neil tried to pass me the quaffle, but the goon missed and hit my shoulder. But, of course, I caught it anway," he was saying, pausing every few seconds to flash me what he obviously thought was a stunning grin. It wasn't really. He had bad teeth. Roy (Ron?) continued to ramble. Michelle wondered if he was the captain. That would explain how he got to be so popular.

She wished Katie were here in her place. The petite brunette would love someone to talk Quidditch with. She was, after all, a beater on the Gryffindor team. Michelle enjoyed watching Quidditch, but talking about in constantly was too much. It was just a game.

"Michelle!"

The blonde looked up at the sound of her name. Speak of the devil, Katie seemed to finally made it to breakfast. She came and took the spot across from Michelle. "I have spent the last hour in the boys dorm, _begging_ James Potter to share his hangover potion," she explained, completely ignoring Roy/Ron's presence.

"Why didn't you just send Lily up?" Michelle asked as Katie loaded her plate with pancakes. The girl was tiny, but she could eat like no other. "He would've given it to her in a heartbeat."

It was no secret that James Potter, the very attractive, raven haired Gryffindor boy, was head over heels in love with Lily. In fifth year, he would follow her around like a puppy, asking her out every chance he got. With anyone else, it would have been annoying, but James was the Quidditch captain and he had the body to prove it, which made this totally adorable. Lily however, was not as amused by it. She was constantly screaming at the boy.

Katie rolled her eyes. "She refused to ask 'that boy' for favors. Now I'm in debt to James," she informed me. "I'm afraid."

Michelle laughed. She would be too. James was part of the legendary group who called themselves The Marauders. The Marauders were a group of four boys who made it their mission in life to prank as many people as possible. The other three Marauders were Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin, and of course, Sirius Black.

Remus and Peter were the quieter members of the group. Peter was pudgy and didn't have much to say. Remus was more interesting. He had sandy brown hair and was definitely the most mature of the four. He was even prefect, which no one quite understood, seeing as he broke just as many rules as the others.

Sirius Black was another story. To most students (mainly girls), he was perfect. Perfect hair, perfect teeth, and definitely a perfect body. He didn't take anything seriously, always joking around. He was smart, but unmotivated. Sirius always had something up his sleeve. And like most boys who looked that good, Sirius had a bad habit of using girls. Well, he had a lot of bad habits, actually.

Both Michelle and Katie had experienced Sirius Black's charm. But that was another story.

The two girls ate breakfast quickly, with Michelle sneaking bites off Katie's monstrous plate. After that, they head off to class. They slipped into the Charms room only seconds before the bell, and took their seats next to Lily. She was sitting chipper and prepared. Michelle never understood how she could stay out partying one night and still have all her homework in the next morning.

"I hope you all had an exciting Halloween," squeaked Professor Flitwick fro the front of the room. "Today, we will be starting a segment on simple household spells."

Michelle yawned. House hold spells? When would that ever come in handy. Most people she knew had a house elf to do all that stuff. She leaned back in her chair.

"Now-" Flitwick started to say, but he was interrupted by a loud _BANG_. He jumped, and looked towards the door, where the sound came from. There was a second of silence and then it swung open, revealing four guilty looking boys.

"Sorry we're late, Professor," Remus Lupin said after a second. "We had a, er, mishap getting out of the common room."

Flitwick frowned. "Detention for all of you."

They didn't seem too bothered. They took their seats as a now flustered Flitwick spoke again. "Now, what I was saying was, you will be paired with a partner for this. I will choose your groups. Now, stop groaning," he told us.

Michelle didn't mind being paired up. In fact, Flitwick made partners fun. He always paired them with friends. Michelle had spent the last few assignments working with her now ex boyfriend Ashton Brookes. However, she had dumped him right before Halloween after she caught him in a broom closet with Megan Bell, a slutty girl from Slytherin. She really hoped Flitwick somehow knew this, though she doubted it. Teachers never knew anything.

"Lupin and Smith," Flitwick was saying, pointing to tables where the partners would have to sit. "Black and Potter." And sure enough, Michelle heard, "Brookes and Parker."

"No!" Michelle shouted without thinking. Everyone turned to stare at her. They all knew about the nasty breakup.

Flitwick sighed. "Is there a problem, Miss Parker?"

Michelle nodded. "Yes, Professor. The problem is that I refuse to be partners with a pig like him. I demand someone new."

She was shocked at how bold she was being, but she knew there was no way she could work with Ashton. Flitwick was surprised, too. "Miss Parker, that is entirely unnecessary. Next time, come to me in private if you have a problem." He paused and sighed. "For now, switch partners with Potter, and meet me in detention tonight."

Great. Detention. Michelle stomped over to where James was sitting with Sirius. "Move," she demanded, and then felt guilty. James didn't look offended, though, and went to sit with Brooks. Michelle took his seat and turned to face Sirius. "Sorry, I'm angry."

"I'd say so," he laughed. "Trouble with Brooks?"

Michelle raised an eyebrow. "You mean you haven't heard?"

He shook his head. "Sorry to say, I don't keep tabs on your love life."

"He cheated on me, I caught him, and we got in a screaming match in the Great Hall, to put it simply," she informed him.

Sirius frowned. "He's a pig."

A very unladylike snort came from the blonde. She thought it was extremely hypocritical of Sirius to be calling anyone else a pig, but she wasn't about to say that. Instead, she just covered the snort with a dazzling smile. "I know," she said, tossing her long hair over her shoulder. Her and Sirius were flirts. It was what they did, so of course they flirted with each other. Everyone told them they had 'chemistry'. Michelle didn't see it. Flirting was just fun.

"If I had a catch like you, I wouldn't go off snogging some hag," Sirius said, and his hand slipped over to rest on her thigh. Well, that part was fun, too.

Michelle smiled. Suddenly, detention didn't look so bad.


End file.
